The announcement has spread far and wide: Murad the Proud, Sultan of Zeif, is sending one of his daughters to be wed to the son of Muammar Qharan, Pasha of Tusmit. Some say that all the noble daughters of Zeif have been trained as master spies. Some wonder what benefits this union will bring to either nation. Some wonder why the personal bodyguard that preceded the bride to Tusmit looks so much like the Sultan’s army. Others wonder if, in the midst of all the political machinations, she will ever make it to Tusmit alive.